1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the technical field of application programming interfaces. More particularly, the preferred embodiments of the present invention relate generally to a method and system for protecting intellectual property. More particularly, the preferred embodiments of the present invention relate generally to an improved method and system for providing copyright protection for blog posts from within a blog-publishing application before publication of the blog post and for automatically publishing the blog post once copyright protection is confirmed. Additionally, the present invention relates generally to an improved method and system of registering a blog post before publication from within a blog-publishing application in order to memorialize facts of its creation and in order to allow the blog post to be shared and then automatically publishing the blog post once registration is confirmed.
2. Description of the Related Art
The broad concept of using electronic systems to assist in the copyright protection of digital creative works is known. These inventions usually involve using digital means to mark a creative work or encrypt the protected work so that it is accessible only through proper authorization. However, these inventions do not allow for copyright protection to be obtained before publishing a blog post and for a blog post to be automatically published once copyright protection is confirmed.
It is also known to use methods of digital watermarking to identify copyrighted works. Digital watermarking can include inserting watermarks that may be easily viewed by any party accessing a digital creative work or using watermarks that are embedded in the creative work and only identifiable by the party who added the watermark.
It is also known to use electronic systems to encrypt protected works to impede copying. Various methods exist for digitally encrypting the content of a creative work such that decryption is required to access the creative work.
It is also known to use electronic systems to manage creative works by recording them in an online database. Usually these inventions use electronic methods for licensing, sharing and enforcing the proper use of copyrighted material.
It is also known to electronically generate copyright applications for a creative work; however, these inventions do not allow for the generation of copyright applications from within a running third party software application; the electronic submission of the generated copyright application to the United States Copyright Office, along with the requisite fees, before publishing the creative work; or automatic publication of the protected creative work once submission of the generated copyright application is confirmed.
It is also known to use electronic methods to locate an intellectual property attorney and to provide virtual legal services over a computer network.
It is known to electronically protect virtual intellectual property in the context of a video game environment. However, these inventions only allow for submission of the creative work to a virtual video game patent office or a virtual video game copyright office and limits intellectual property protection to the context of a video game environment.
General definitions for terms utilized in the pertinent art are set forth below.
Web browser is a complex software program, resident in a host device, that is capable of loading and displaying text and images and exhibiting behaviors as encoded in HTML (HyperText Markup Language) from the Internet, and also from the client computer's memory. Major browsers include MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER, CHROME, NETSCAPE, APPLE SAFARI, MOZILLA FIREFOX, and OPERA.
Web Server is a computer able to simultaneously manage many Internet information-exchange processes at the same time. Normally, server computers are more powerful than client computers, and are administratively and/or geographically centralized. An interactive-form information-collection process generally is controlled from a server computer, to which the sponsor of the process has access.
Application is a software program for a host device, usually for performing a specific function or a range of specific functions.
Blog, short for weblog, is a personal website or web page on which an individual or a group of individuals record opinions, experiences, observations, links to other sites, etc. on a regular basis and often having images or other media.
Blog post is an article posted on a blog.
Blog-publishing Application is an application software program running on a host device, which is used to create blog posts and publish them within a user's blog. Major blog-publishing applications include WORDPRESS, BLOGGER, WEEBLY and TUMBLR.
Application Programming Interface (API) is a collection of computer software code, usually a set of class definitions, that can perform a set of related complex tasks, but has a limited set of controls that may be manipulated by other software-code entities. The set of controls is deliberately limited for the sake of clarity and ease of use, so that programmers do not have to work with the detail contained within the given API itself.